As someone who reads mainly fiction, a few non-fiction books about a subject, movie, or book that falls within my wheelhouse always grabs my attention, such is why Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise fell into my lap. Tom Deady joins together a cast of contributors to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Stephen King’s IT in fitting fashion, telling stories and more about the iconic horror novel that shaped most of our childhoods. An absolutely treasure of a collection that hand me both reminiscing and eagerly awaiting my next read or even viewing of IT.
In September of 1986, Stephen King published IT, a sprawling 1,138 page novel that he later dubbed in an interview his “final exam on horror.” IT follows the lives of seven friends who battle an ageless evil in their small hometown of Derry, Maine. Twenty-seven years later, they reunite to face their childhood fears when they realize IT wasn’t dead after all.
IT holds a special place in my life for many reasons, the first being that the book is fantastic. The others being I was born in 1986 (the year the novel was released), when I moved to Bangor in the mid-1990s I lived only a block away from King’s West Broadway home, and returned to the area after moving away for 10 years, driving by the house every week on the way to my local comic shop. Yes, many of these are just reasons why I should love all of King’s books, but IT is one that really stays with you as you grow older.
While I would’ve jumped right into the deep end of a book author solely by Deady revolving around IT, I am almost more glad that Tom was able to get together an eclectic group of people to share their thoughts, opinions, stories, and analysis of the 40-year-old King story. This gives a bit more wide-range of thought behind what has made IT stand the test of time and still relevant today.
Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise is not just people gushing over how amazing the book is, well there is some of that, the book features varying stories of how much the book and Stephen King mean to these people and why it works as a story. We have chapters dedicated to Pennywise the villain, clowns as a whole, balloons, iconography, Derry/Bangor, the multiple adaptations, relation to Stranger Things, and even the tougher to swallow subjects of racism, the fictionalized version of real-life hate crimes against a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and THAT scene.
Each contributor wonderfully found their entry point into telling their story behind why IT has been around for so long and is celebrating a 40th birthday and not just another year on the shelf. Chapters from Michael Rowe, Tamika Thompson, and Jonathan Janz really struck chords with me and made me think a bit deeper into the social issues King didn’t shy away from when crafting the story of IT and how this classic horror novel has formed almost a guideline to making horror stories today such as Stranger Things. While each subject might not be ground shaking in sense of meaningful impact, they each have a good reason to be a part of this collection and goes to show how many people have been shaped by this book, being only a sample of the people impacted by IT.
In addition to the essays featured in Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise, we also get a few interviews such as with King collaborator and bestselling author Richard Chizmar, and one from basically my neighbors with Jamie Tinker and Jennifer Millar of SK Tours. Yes, Derry is a fictional town, but having it based on your backyard with special places to visit throughout that have a connection to the horrors within IT is truly something special. People travel from all over the world to visit Bangor because of what King has written in books such as IT and I try not to take advantage of being able to live right in the center of it.
The physical copy is always a great choice, but truthfully the narration by Sara Sheckells & Shaun Taylor-Corbett for the audiobook was superb. I have been a fan of Tayl0r-Corbett ever since his narration of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, and along with Sheckells perfectly captures the voice of each contributor to this book.
I opened Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise because I thought it would be fun to get a chance to relive IT alongside others for the 40th Anniversary, but what I got was so much more. Tom Deady brings together a great group of contributors, who celebrate the anniversary, but also gave me a new look into what makes IT so special in the first place. While reading the 1986 horror before diving into this book might be a good idea, it almost feels more impact to read Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise and then give the 1,138 page novel glance with new eyes.
Those who contributed to this collection include the already mentioned Rowe, Thompson, Janz, Chizmar, Tinker & Millar, as well as Scott Bradley, Christa Carmen, Jeff C. Carter, Glenn Chadbourne, Charlene Cocrane, Rebecca Cuthbert, Victoria Dalpe, Lauren Daniels, Kristin Dearborn, Brian Freeman, Scott Goudsward, Larry Hinkle, Dave Jeffery, Paul Michael Kane, Gwendolyn Kiste, John Langan, Jonathan Lees, Hans-Ake Lilja, Bracken MacLeod, Neil McRobert, Scotty Milder, Lee Murray, Vincent Neyt, Nick Roberts, Lindy Ryan, Bev Vincent, Kris Webster, and Mercedes Yardley.
Still Floating: 40 Years of Pennywise hits bookstores everywhere on September 15, 2026 from Greymore Publishing. The audiobook, narrated by Sara Sheckells & Shaun Taylor-Corbett, is available via Libro.fm!
